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Santiago de los Caballeros or simply Santiago is a city in the Dominican Republic. The buildings are old and classic Caribbean Spanish style.

Get in

By Plane: You can get into Sanatiago by plane, to the Santiago Municipal (STI) at the Aeropuerto Internacional del Cibao.

There are direct flights from New York (JFK) by Delta Airlines, and JetBlue. From Miami (Fort Lauderdale) by Spirit Air and American Airlines from Miami International Airport (MIA) There is a direct flight on Jet Blue to Boston (BOS) and San Juan (SJU). Also if you are in South America there is a direct flight from Panama (PTY) by Copa Airlines. Air Turks & Caicos have a direct flight from Providenciales (PLS) and connection to Nassau (NAS), Bahamas.

Get around

To get from the Airport to the city cheaply, here is Suggestion #1[1].

Suggestion #2 for getting from the Airport to the City cheaply. Get to the road Las Palomas which runs through Licey, either by walking (a bit over 5km, or 1 hour at a moderate pace with baggage) or bargaining with some mototaxi or taxi at the airport (as per the first suggestion, go a little out of the airport to get cheaper taxis). From Licey there are regular gua-guas westbound to Santiago, which shouldn't cost you more than 25 pesos.

Dominican Airport Transfers [2] . You can book online on their automated site.

There are many Bus Lines that can take you to different cities in Dominican Republic:

Expresso: those are the cheapest transportation to another city but this one stops everywhere during the trip to leave people so it will be slower and smaller than others..

AetraBus
Transporte Espinal

Taxis/Cab: most of them are expensive depending where you want to get but actually they cost RD$ 150.00 aprox US$ 4.00

Coches: this one is pulled by horses it just take you around the city, it is fun and romantic, you can find them at the Monument.

Conchos: those are the cheapest public transportation for going around the city with many routes it cost actually RD$ 15.00 aprox. US$ 0.40

MotoConchos: this motorbikes can take you anywhere around the city it's fast and dangerous for just RD$ 20.00 US$ 0.55

See

Centro Leon (Centro Leon Santiago), Av. 27 de Febrero No. 146 (Santiago de los Caballeros, DR), ☎(809) 582-2315, [5]. 8-6. This is the modern center of Santiago, offering art galleries, audiovisual presentations, cinemacafe every week, a library and multimedia services. Local and international expos are present all around the year.

El Monumento Santiago (Monumento de Santiago), Avenida Circunvalacion (Santiago). 10-10. Is located in the highest hill in the city, called also Monumento a los Heroes de la Restauración. All the nightlife in Santiago is conveniently located around this area. Live Concerts are held in the premises. Inside has a museum and library as well

Do

Calle El Sol (Calle El Sol Santiago), Calle El Sol (Santiago). This is the shopping street of Santiago de los Caballeros, here you will be close to museum, local attractions, giftshops, places to eat and drink and important monuments.

Kaskada Park (Kaskada Agua Park), Ave. Hispanoamericana # 90, ☎1-809-570-7070 (info@kaskadapark.net), [6]. 6 days a week 10:00 AM - 5.30 PM, closed on tuesdays. This is a popular water park in Santiago. It gets extremely crowded with people, many people outside of the Santiago travel here with their families. The safety in some rides is questionable so be careful.$250 pesos for children ages 2-10, $350 pesos for adults.

Buy

Bella Terra Mall. Av Juan Pablo Duarte. This one is the newest and the biggest in Santiago with many stores like iFix from Apple Inc. And many clothing stores.

Colinas Mall. Las Colinas. This one is recognized by a huge supermarket called Jumbo and for having lots of accesories stores.

But if you like more cheap things you should go to the city centre specially to Calle del Sol and all streets around.

If you are willing to buy more sophisticated stuff you could visit: Charo, La Rosé, Kakey, Eternia....

Eat

Santago has many places to eat and a variety of dishes.
There are many cultural places in Santiago due to globalization, such as american food (TGI Fridays, Burger King, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Domino's, Papa John's, Taco Bell and others.

Drink

Santiago has many Bars where you can drink anything you want. The cerveza is of the pilsner type, and it is very good. Both Presidente and Bohemia are great choices, as well as the Brazilian beer Brahma, which is sold in most places as well. For a cheap beer (as in not full restaurant prices) look for a colmado, or mini-market that delivers as well.

Search for a place called "Chico's Drinks" in el barrio "Los Jardines" - it's more of a cart run out of a guy's house, but man his mojitos and dakaris are good!

Local rum or Rón, is very cheap and very delicious. Two brands that stand out for quality for price are Brugal and Barcelo. Look for the extra añejo which is aged up to 12 years. At a bar, a rum and coke is called a Cuba Libre, a rum and sprite is a Santo Libre. Besides "Dónde está el baño" that's about all you need to know!

In most bars and clubs, the bartender will know what drink you want in English terminology, but often times, one has to put the name together into one word to get the point across - it's more Dominican that way. For example, a gin and tonic would be pronounced, "Gíntón." Keep that in mind, and be patient with the Dominicans, it will get you a long way.

Besides rum, whiskey is the other most commonly consumed hard alcohol. Johnny Walker bottles can be seen on most tables in clubs and drinking establishments, either Red, White, or Black Label.

Whatever your poison is, there will be plenty of it.

Sleep

Lodging/Hotels If you are just stopping by or must wait for another flight you can stay at the Hodelpa Courtyard at less than 20 mins from the airport.

If you are going to be around the city, one possibility is Hodelpa Gran Almirante, which has a convention centre, a casino, and TGI Fridays.
In the city centre there is the Hodelpa Centro Plaza & Casino just in the right middle of the city, and if you want something near to the beautiful monument you can stay at Hotel Matum & Casino.

Hotel Aloha Sol, Calle del Sol #50, ☎809-583-0090, [7]. checkin: 3:00 P.M.; checkout: 1:00 P.M.. The hotel is on Calle Del Sol in the center of the city. The hotel has 103 rooms available. One can reach the Monumento by foot in about 10 minutes. $83.

Hotel Colonial, Calle Salvador Cucurullo, Nos.: 109, 113, 115., ☎809-247-3122. This is a simple but comfortable hotel. The kitchen prepares delicious local dishes, and there is wifi access in the local and dining area. edited: I slept there for few nights. For me they seem to be spoiled by various recommendations (LonelyPlanet for example) and what they really care now about is - your money. Not bad standard tough. I am 60 % sure that I've been food poisoned after eating in their restaurant....$14 (RD$ 560).

Hotel Dorato, calle salvador cucurollo (calle salvador cucurollo). Just in front of the Hotel Colonial. Cheaper and the rooms are with the same standard as of Colonial400 pesos.

Hotel Cucurollo, calle salvador cucurollo (calle salvador cucurollo). For people that won't get depressed fast while staying in its room.... No hot water, no internet, electricity blackouts are frequent...Rooms look like bunkers. You won'f find anything cheaper in Santiago probably - pay 200 pesos and see how most of Dominicans live on daily basis...200 pesos.

Stay safe

The Centro Historico clears out after dark and it is not smart to be there. The western half (La Joya, Gurabito, Cienfuegos, etc.) of the city is generally poorer and rougher than the eastern half, but it is unlikely that any travelers would end up there.

Beware of purse-snatchers and pick pockets when walking around. It is important not to wear gold jewelry because it could make you become an easy target to be mugged. Be careful when revealing expensive phones in public, it has become more common for people to be mugged of their electronic.
Dress down as much as possible, you will stand out too much if you are dressed in a fancy way.

Caucasian tourists should be alarmed that they could be easy targets to be mugged, also be careful of insincere people who may try to befriend you to get money out of you. In such cases it is better to travel with a tour guide who can help you avoid these situations.

Get out

Cibao International Airport - this is the third largest airport in the country and the best way out of Santiago if you are an international traveler. Beware that during the winter time flights to New York and Boston often get delayed or cancelled do to snow storms so bring some reading materials in case your flight is delayed. When flights are cancelled the airline will book you in a hotel near the airport.

Make sure that you are not bringing back to your home country any items that are banned by customs because they will get thrown out if they are found in your luggage. The airport has a cafe if you walk up the stairs that has a good view of the runway, but do not spend too much time there because going through customs can take a long time.